The Night Portrait

"The Night Portrait" by Laura Morelli is historical fiction at its best and is not your typical World War II novel! Told through two timelines and four characters, it is the story of the origins of one of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous paintings and of the people who sought to keep it safe from the Nazis during World War II. This book is extremely well-researched and very well-written, with highly developed characters who seem to come alive from the pages. The descriptions of both 1490's Milan and 1940's Europe were vivid and accurate. The movement between timelines and characters is seamless and I was never once confused. Readers who are interested in art and/or Nazi Germany will love this book. I was completely engrossed by the interesting plot and read this novel fairly quickly because I could not wait to find out what happened next.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity and privilege of reading this absolutely fabulous book!

This breathtaking novel tells the story of Leonardo Da Vinci and one of his paintings, switching from the 1490’s when he paints it to World War II when it was stolen by the Nazis from its rightful owner. The author transports you to Italy to the courts of a powerful man and the mistress he loved and adored. He requested that the new artist Da Vinci come and paint her portrait. While doing so Da Vinci and Cecelia became close friends. The novel allowed me to picture the castle and Cecilia’s rooms along with her magnificent clothing and beauty.

The jump from the 1490’s and WWII was done superbly, as each era was centred around the same thing, the portrait. Dominic and Edith, from the WWII chapters were developed nicely and they came across as real people to me, allowing me to feel their pain. The storyline gave me new information and backgrounds into Da Vinci and to the damage and pain the Nazi’s cost people. I liked how Dominic and Edith had separate stories to tell yet both stories were again centred around the same thing, art.

This is a long book but it doesn’t seem like it as you are quickly drawn in to the various storylines And you want to keep reading to see how it will all end. Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the opportunity to read this sweeping story. This is it just another book about WWII, it is a story of the beauty and love of art and how it is meant to be seen by all. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this epic tale.

The Night Portrait by Laura Morelli is historical fiction at its best taking us through two different geographical locations and the late 15th century Florence and Milan and Poland/Germany 1939-1946.
In 1496 Leonardo da Vinci himself and Cecilia Gallerani, a young girl who ends up posing for one of his beautiful paintings. The timeline alternates between Edith, a German art restorer/curator that is asked to partake in illegal activities for the good of the Germany and Dominic, an American GI that we first see being involved in D Day and then eventually gets caught up in becoming part of the Monuments group that helped rescue, take, and return stolen works of art to their rightful places.

A lovely tale that gives us so many heartbreaking and yet wonderful experiences. Love, loss, mystery, suspense, passion, good vs evil, adventure, unsung heroes, and sheer determination All of these emotions fit perfectly with the wonderful descriptions of art, art history, and preservation.

This was an excellent book that and kept me glued to the pages. Highly recommended.

Quite a remarkable story about a painting and people that really existed. I'm always curious why famous painters came to paint what they did and this is along those lines. There's some great characters and oh the world of art! I know little about it but I was almost tempted to go and pick up a paintbrush. I started to believe I was one of them. Of course reality hit and I'm not , but this book makes me want to go and see a museum with his paintings now.

Brushtrokes of magic here

I absolutely love historical fiction books but it takes a lot to impress me at this stage as I've read quite a few over the years. However, I can honestly say I adored the Night Portrait and it has been one of my favourite reads of 2020.

The Night Portrait has three view points, very different from each other and it takes a while to find out how they are connected to each other. Edith is a young German woman who is given the task of identifying famous pieces of artwork during WW2 for the Nazis, a task she finds difficult. Her most important discovery is a portrait by Leonardo da Vinci. Dominik is a young American soldier who is involved in the hunt for the stolen treasures of the Nazis. Cecelia's story is very different, she is a young woman that becomes a mistress of a powerful Italian man in the 1400's. She sits for a portrait by Leonardo da Vinci.

I loved this book and I simply couldn't put it down. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to any fellow historical fiction lover, it was an absolute pleasure to be asked to review this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.